Bell pepper derived nitrogen-doped carbon dots as a pH-modulated fluorescence switching sensor with high sensitivity for visual sensing of 4-nitrophenol

Guoqiang Guo; Tingting Li; Ziyi Liu; Xinyu Luo; Ting Zhang; Siyuan Tang; Xu Wang; Da Chen

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.137232

Bell pepper derived nitrogen-doped carbon dots as a pH-modulated fluorescence switching sensor with high sensitivity for visual sensing of 4-nitrophenol

Food Chem. 2024 Jan 30:432:137232. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.137232. Epub 2023 Aug 22.

Authors

Guoqiang Guo¹, Tingting Li¹, Ziyi Liu¹, Xinyu Luo¹, Ting Zhang², Siyuan Tang³, Xu Wang⁴, Da Chen⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microelectronic Science and Engineering, School of Physical Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, PR China.
² Department of Chemical Engineering, Ningbo Polytechnic, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315800, PR China.
³ Department of Microelectronic Science and Engineering, School of Physical Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, PR China; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Full Spectral Solar Electricity Generation (FSSEG), Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, PR China.
⁴ Department of Microelectronic Science and Engineering, School of Physical Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, PR China. Electronic address: wangxu1@nbu.edu.cn.
⁵ Department of Microelectronic Science and Engineering, School of Physical Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, PR China. Electronic address: chenda@nbu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37633140
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.137232

Abstract

Recently, converting bio-waste into bio-asset and implementing a portable sensing instrument for pollutant monitoring has been highly desirable and challenging. Herein, biomass-derived nitrogen-doped carbon dots (CDs) are prepared hydrothermally and emit blue fluorescence (470 nm) with a high quantum yield of 23.2%. Significantly, CDs can serve as a pH-modulated fluorescence switching nano-sensor to detect 4-NP from 0.054 to 68 μM with low detection limit (LOD, 54 nM) and limit of quantification (LOQ, 181 nM) based on inner filter effect. Moreover, the satisfactory recovery of 101.8-107.5% is gained in practical sample monitoring. Furthermore, a smartphone-integrated optosensing device with CDs-based film is developed for detecting 4-NP with LOD and LOQ of 0.110 μM and 0.350 μM. Concomitantly, the practicability of this device is further validated in several crop samples with satisfactory recovery rates of 101.6-108.6%. Therefore, this work provides a reliable way and a prospective application for on-site 4-NP monitoring in food.

Keywords: 4-Nitrophenol sensing; Bell pepper; Optosensing system; Visual sensing; pH-modulated fluorescence switching.

MeSH terms

Capsicum*
Carbon
Fluorescence
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Nitrogen

Substances

4-nitrophenol
Carbon
Nitrogen